A woman high on crack cocaine and Valium spat at and bit police officers, telling them that she had a contagious disease.

Swansea Crown Court was shown video footage of a hysterical Lisa Sture, swearing at police and struggling as she was put into the back of a police van, following her arrest on March 21, 2022.

The court heard that after Sture, 32, of Long Mains Pembroke had been arrested she was put into a caged cell in the back of a police vehicle.

While in the vehicle she spat at an officer, shouting out that she had hepatitis C and kicked out at officers and at the door of the van.

When the police vehicle arrived at Haverfordwest Police Station, Sture had been spitting inside the van and repeating that she had Hepatitis C and started spitting at officers as she left the vehicle.

Another officer went to put a spit guard on her and Sture bit that officer’s hand with force, piercing the officer’s PPE glove and causing it to rip. The officer was left with redness on her hand.

The cell in the police van has spit on the walls and had to be professionally cleaned.

Sture admitted two charges of assaulting an emergency worker and a charge of criminal damage for the spit in the van.

On April 25 she denied a charge of wounding with intent and a charge of unlawful wounding.

The court heard today, Wednesday, May 3, that the alleged wounding complainant was ‘not supportive’ of a prosecution and had not given a statement.

The case had been considered and these charges were dropped with no evidence offered.

Judge Her Honour Catherine Richards heard that Sture had a significant antecedent history and was the subject of a 12-month suspended sentence for similar offences when the March assault and damage took place.

Her ‘formidable’ antecedent record dated back to 2007 and included battery, assaulting a constable, possession of a bladed article, public order offences, resisting a constable, dishonesty and ABH.

In January 2022 she had been given a suspended sentence for assaulting an emergency worker.

In Sture’s defence it was said that she had admitted two of the offences at the first opportunity and the third at her first crown court hearing.

“She has a vague recollection of the day in question as she had consumed crack cocaine and Valium,” said her defence solicitor.

He added that her consumption of these drugs seemed to be the ‘root cause’ of all or most of her recent offending behaviour ‘combined with a problem with authority’ and that she had had a difficult life.

He said that Sture knew that an immediate custodial sentence was inevitable and that she hoped to use her time in custody as a period of rehabilitation.

Judge Richards sentenced Sture to five months in prison and activated four months of the suspended sentence to run consecutively, giving a total nine month sentence, half of which Sture will serve in custody before being released on licence.